This method consists of the following operations: the page-setting of the text and/or the images that will be printed in the usual way; the page-setting of the text that will be printed in Braille; the printing of the films (25) in the ratio of one per page that will be printed in the usual way, and of one per page that will be printed in Braille, the carrying out of a printing plate (27) per film (25) that contains a printing side in which is represented the motif that corresponds to the one that figures in the film; the fixing of the Braille printing plate (27) in the margin cylinder (5) of one of the printing posts (28 at 31) of the offset printing machine; the fixing of the usual printing plates (35) in the plate carrier cylinder (1) of the other printing posts (28 at 30); the printing of the sheets to be printed which have passed one by one through the blanket carrier cylinders (4) and the margin cylinders (5).
This invention refers to a printing method to produce, thanks to an offset printing machine, documents that can be read at the same time by sighted and blind people.
In a general way, it is known that the offset printing machines can produce an important quantity of printed documents at low cost. A machine of these characteristics usually includes one or several printing posts, each one of them consisting of a plate carrier cylinder equipped with both printing and damper rollers, a blanket carrier cylinder and a counter-pressure cylinder or margin cylinder. The plate carrier cylinder is covered with a plate containing the motif to be printed. The blanket carrier cylinder is covered with a blanket manufactured in a flexible and elastic material that receives from the plate carrier cylinder a reversed image of the motif that will be printed and that figures on the plate.
The virgin sheets that will be printed are initially heaped up in a feeding post and are transmitted one to one to a margin area before passing between the blanket and the margin cylinder where printing is made. Once printed, the sheets are heaped up in a reception post.
When we want to print on both sides, the offset printing machine is provided of at least two printing posts where there is a device of inversion of the sheets. Also, if we want to print in several colours or in four colours, the machine should have as many printing posts as colours and sides to be printed.
On the other hand, in the Braille printing methods, typography techniques are used whose start is very slow and therefore very expensive.
The purpose of this invention is to allow an offset machine of the type mentioned above to make, simultaneously and in large quantities, classic and Braille printing, and this, without having to make any type of change in the machine, in order to make newspapers and books accessible at the same time to both sighted and blind people.
To this end, it proposes a printing method, like the one described previously, combining both usual and Braille printing, in an offset machine equipped with at least two printing posts. This method comprises the following operations:
the page-setting of the text and/or the images that will be printed in the usual way, and the page-setting of the text that will be printed in Braille,
from the aforementioned page-settings, the printing of at least one film per page that will be printed in the usual way, and of one film per page that will be printed in Braille,
the production of a printing plate per film equipped with a support side and with a printing side containing the motif corresponding to the one that figures on the film,
the fixing of the Braille printing plate by its support side to the margin cylinder of one of the printing posts, and the fixing of the usual printing plates by their support side to the plate carrier cylinder of the other printing posts, and
the printing of the sheets to be printed and that have passed one by one and successively between the blanket carrier cylinders and the counter-pressure cylinders of each printing post.
In this way, the text in Braille is printed in relief due to the local deformations of the sheets that pass through the blanket carrier cylinder and the counter-pressure cylinder covered with the Braille relief printing plate of one of the printing posts, while the text printed in the usual way is printed in the other posts of the offset machine.
Thanks to these dispositions, the invention considerably increases the field of application of existing offset machines. Therefore a better profitability of the machines is obtained and it is possible not only to carry out Braille printing at a very low price, but also to produce documents accessible to both sighted and blind people.
Advantageously, the Braille printing plate is made thanks to a photogravure technique.
According to a particular embodiment of the invention, this method also comprises the selection of at least a part of the text that will be printed in the usual way, and the automatic conversion to Braille of the selected text.
Advantageously, the sheets are printed in the habitual way on both sides. Like this, as Braille printing can only be done on one of the sides that are going to be printed, the text printed in the usual way can be distributed on two pages and associated to images, such as for example pictures, and possibly, publicity can be added in the case of newspapers.
Like this it is possible to make, in big quantities and at low prices, newspapers, magazines and books that are accessible at the same time to both sighted and blind, people.